Original reporting on little-known U.S. government funded foreign aid projects, so-called "drug war" initiatives, and overseas business subsidies.

PatriotUpdate.com

07/23/2013

Steve Peacock from his home office speaking with Denver radio talk-show host Peter Boyles.

Today I was tracked down by Denver radio talk-show host Peter Boyles (710KNUS), who took note of my reporting primarily via WND on the issues of drones -- unmanned aerial systems -- and other forms of electronic surveillance. We spoke for nearly 20 minutes about some of the following articles, while Mr. Boyles also allowed me to briefly pitch my website U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor and talk about my background as a Capitol Hill reporter covering the final years of the Clinton Administration through the start of the George W. Bush Administration.

Many thanks to Mr. Boyles for this amazing opportunity. He expressed a strong desire to have me return as a guest on his show, to which I am very much looking forward. -- S.P.

Obama deploying drones around U.S. -- Contracts show units
to be used to enforce regulations (WND; July 21, 2013)

06/27/2013

While the breadth of NSA’s communications-intercept program only
recently came to light, a review of federal records and news reports
shows that mainstream media largely ignored or overlooked a massive
surveillance-system buildup that started to accelerate in 2006.

Indeed, hundreds of millions of dollars since have been poured into
the very facility in Hawaii from which Edward Snowden, the NSA
whistleblower who exposed the PRISM spying program, had removed
classified documents while working as a government contractor.

Even a full year after that breaking story, when some media finally began reporting on the project, The Peacock Report raised the question of why so-called news organizations were soft-pedaling the global surveillance issue (See: “Media Miss NSA Angle on Navy ‘Telecom’ Project in Hawaii”).

04/30/2013

In terms of global competitiveness, Mexico ranks 58th among 142
nations—and U.S. taxpayers are stepping in to help raise that ranking.

Increased credit access, especially for small and medium-sized
businesses, is one of the targeted improvements the Obama Administration
is hoping to accomplish through the Mexico Competitiveness Project II,
or MCP II.

A $22 million contract that the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) awarded to Abt Associates, Inc., will support
Mexican-government efforts to help businesses as well as to institute
system-wide reforms.

For those who have not yet read that article, I had discovered, through routine database research, that the U.S. Agency for International Development will pay contractors up to a half-billion dollars to train other nation's to comply with United Nations-sanctioned "rule of law" guidelines (click through the link above for the full Patriot Update article).

There's nothing inherently wrong with encouraging governments to treat their citizens fairly and to be held accountable to their people; however,foisting this additional financial burden upon U.S. taxpayers -- compunded by the laughable notion that our government is some sort of Beacon on the Hill for the masses to follow -- is hypocritical if not downright laughable. Now that the sequestration process is unfolding, the White House and Congress should take a closer look at such projects when they start claiming that there's no place left for budget cuts.

12/29/2012

My latest from Patriot Update:

Sharpening the ability of U.S. Special Forces to execute global
operations takes more than just advanced weaponry and unwavering
bravery; reflecting this perspective, the U.S. Special Operations
Command (USSOCOM) recently revealed a $250 million foreign language and
cultural training program whose aim is to help these elite units
interact more effectively with any “target region’s people.”

11/28/2012

Obama Finances Energy, Port Project Trips to India

By Steve Peacock; PatriotUpdate.com, Nov. 28, 2012

In the days and weeks after Hurricane Sandy wrecked ports, resorts, and power lines across the mid-Atlantic coast, the Obama administration launched multiple projects targeting the revitalization of such infrastructure. Not in seaside New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, but in cities across India: Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Mumbai…

Upon closer inspection, however, Patriot Update has discovered that taxpayers will foot the bill for industry trips to India—trips taken on behalf of a consortium whose members include multinationals such as ExxonMobil, GE, and IBM.

09/15/2012

U.S. taxpayers foot bill for Ethiopian footwear push

By Steve Peacock, PatriotUpdate.com, Sept. 15, 2012

Although the mission of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is to
create programs that “improve the health of the Nation,” the Obama
Administration apparently is taking liberties with which nation the NIH
should be helping. Indeed, a project aimed at influencing parental
decision making—attempted via songs, stories, and posters encouraging
“consistent shoe wearing” in Ethiopia—reveals the notion of “the Nation”
is open to interpretation.